Animadverto
by MatildaSwan
Summary: "Needing less that a microsecond to aim, she fired. And Helen Magnus never misses." A version of what could have happened at the conclusion of End of Nights II, and a possible future that happened after.
1. Chapter 1

Point One; No copywrite infringments are intended through-out this story. I know how annoying copywrite laws are, and I do not intend to break them, law is boring enough without me being on the reciving end of it. Obviously I don't own any of the characters, and I recognise that the majority of this particular chapter is just a slightly different point of view of the events seen at the conclusion of End of Nights II, and so again no infringement is intended. But this is the set-up chapter, and it had to be done.

Point Two; I assume that this is set in an Alternate Reality to the actual Television series, and indeed the title refers to a type of reality. This just means I can do what ever I want with the characters later on and not have to worry about proving with evidence from the series. Nifty trick that :)

Point Three; Spoilers for End of Nights II. But if you haven't seen it yet, why are you reading this?-GO OUT AND WATCH SEASON TWO! IT IS AMAZING!

Point Four; I am Australian, and therfore may have slightly different spelling to the 'norm,' so please excuse. But there are a few purposeful Americanisation through-out the chapter, just giving you the heads up. Also, I use capital letters in a slightly unconvention manner, generally to signify unofficial names, and so when you find them through-out, please know they are intentional.

Point Five; Please Enjoy :)

Point Five B; insert previous episodes here.

...

**Chapter One  
**

"Hey, Blondie," roared Kate, a second before she pulled the trigger of the rocket launcher resting on her shoulder, her body subsequently flung back by the force of the firearm. Bang on the mark the RPG found its target, sending SuperAbnormal Ashley flying through the air and smashing her into the far wall of the main lab with a sickening crunch. She crumpled onto the floor, a lifeless heap.

Helen gasped as the burning debris fell around her. Seeing her daughter spread-eagled on the floor, her body and mind both screaming. It was more than she could handle and so she lay there, defeated.

Kate scrambled to her feet, and rushed to Magnus as fast as her leg would allow. "We have to move," managing to wrench the sobbing woman to her feet. But the Wounded and the Defeated were too slow to avoid the SuperAbnormal racing towards them and their attacker grabbed Kate's face and smashed it into her knee, provoking a grunt of pain to escape her once, and again.

Tossing aside the now unconscious and therefore unthreatening body, the SuperAbnormal fixed her sights on Magnus, seizing her wrist with bone-crushing strength which forced the Mission Target to her knees with a scream of agony. Raising her fist with the intent of creating a bloody pulp and completing the Mission Objective, another hand shot out to grab her forearm, inhibiting her movement.

Shifting her gaze to focus on the owner of the hand, the BlondOne stood before her; the Leader, only different. Gone was the telepathic link that had once connected the two SuperAbnormals, as was the blood-coloured eyes. Confused and vicious, the nameless Abnormal barred her teeth, unable to strike either the Mission Objective or this new threat.

The feeling of hope sprung inside Helen, the cogs in her brain whirring. Analyzing the situation at lightning speed, she knew her daughter had come back to her. And there was no way in Hell that she would lose her again! Her wrist no longer restrained and the SuperAbnormal ensnared by Ashley's grasp, she grabbed the weapon previously discarded on the floor, and spun on her knee. Needing less that a microsecond to aim, she fired. And Helen Magnus never misses.

As the body crumpled and hung lifeless in Ashley's grasp, the building itself seemed to hold its breath. Magnus struggled to her feet, never taking her eyes off her daughter. Turning to meet her gaze, Ashley saw the tears in her mother's eyes as the SuperAbnormal fell forgotten to the ground. Neither dared to speak, breath, even blink for fear of tempting fate, to find this wasn't reality. After what seemed like an eternity, quivering with hope, exhaustion and shock, Helen heard the one voice that would restore her heart again, that could make her life whole once more.

"Mom, you don't have to be afraid anymore."

...

THANK YOU FOR READING! If you hadn't you wouldn't be reading this, so to those who are-You are AWESOME.

Please, do review. Any feedback is welcomed and indeed encouraged.

Yes, I realise there isn't a lot of original content in this chapter, but I had to set the explaintion of Ashley's survival before I embark on the rest of the story. And as I do intend on continuing this, any suggestions of possibilities would be welcomed with open arms if one felt so inclined to present them :)

Also, I wasn't sure if that was too angsty or sappy. If I should turn it down, please let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, it seems I've caught the writing bug now, and I don't want to stop :)

Originally I had assumed that this story would follow a rough outline of season two-ish sort of adventures, but rewritten as I wanted it to be. But now that I'm writing it, I feel as if this particular story will focus on the time period of Ashley recovery and I'll revive this Alternative Reality inside other stories. Just thought I'd let you know, in case you felt this wasn't moving very fast. I'm taking my time, espically seeing as this is such an emotion-fuelled chain of events.

And I'd like to give a MASSIVE thank you hug to all those lovely people who've already read/reviewed/favourited/followed this story. You made my face hurt from smiling. I can't believe the amount of posivite feedback I've gotten, seeing as this is the first fanfic I've ever attempted to write. THANK YOU!

Disclaimer: As you all know, I don't own a thing etc etc. We all know what goes here :) No infringments of copywrite were intending during the constrution of this fanfic. Also, I don't think there are any spoilers that wouldn't have appeared in the previous chapter, so you should be safe. Flashback or previously mentioned shown in italics.

Also, thought I'd mention that the title, to the best of my knowledge, is Latin for Reality. Interperate how you like :)

Please enjoy, dear sir or madam :)

...

**Chapter two**

_"Mom, you don't have to be afraid anymore."_

And with that the Sanctuary itself exhaled as Helen Magnus threw her composure and sense of common decency to the wind, dropped the massive firearm that had been both of their salvation and launched herself across the space separating her from her daughter. They wrapped their arms around one another, shaking and sobbing as they sunk to the ground as exhaustion set in.

Tears streamed down Magnus' face as she held on for dear life, relishing in the physical presence of Ashley, constantly reminding herself that this was real, that this was her reality. And not another hallucination of false hope that she'd been suffering from through-out the previous weeks. She had her daughter once again, she had her life back.

Ashley sobbed silently into her mother's hair, having never been so relieved or happy to be enveloped within the forceful embrace she now enjoyed. The relief to know that she was once again in control of her own mind and body and to be back with the person she cared for most in the world made her feel like a child again. A thousand years could have passed as she knelt on the floor and she wouldn't have cared, she was safe and warm inside Helen's arms.

They sat there until the tears subsided, well past the point of exhaustion and functional consciousness, neither wanting to let go. The silence was eventually broken by Magnus, her voice breaking though she had no tears left to shed. "I thought you'd…" she trailed off, not wanting to entertain the thoughts that had plagued her waking and sleeping moments any longer now Ashley was back. "I'm so sorry," as she smothered her daughter with renewed vigor and refusing to let go.

"Oh my god, Mom, you're killing me," Ashley squeaked with the tiny air reserve she had left after she'd been winded by her mother's rib-crushing hug but a hint of playfulness laced her voice, "I need to breath."

Magnus loosened her hold around Ashley, although somewhat reluctantly, and drew back to look into her eyes. Although the blood-coloured stain had gone, they still held hints of the shade intertwined with the once brilliant blue, creating an unnerving and almost sickening shade of purple speckled through-out.

"What did they do to you?" her voice resounding with a whole new depth of sorrow. Ashley's expression told more than words ever could and Magnus felt a burning rage form in the pit of her stomach, that surpassed even the hatred she'd felt when John had destroyed her heart, as fresh tears formed and fell from Ashley's eyes. They would wake up ouching, or perhaps not wake up at all for torturing her daughter. She was certain of that. Gently wiping the tears away, Magnus pulled her daughter into her chest, whispering and cooing to the shaking form in her arms.

"It doesn't matter now, you're safe with me. That's a promise."

...

It seems I'm a sucker for spoken one-line ending...not sure if that's good or bad, I'll figure that out as I go.

Thank you for reading, a plethora of smilie faces are bestowed upon you.

Please, do review if you're so inclined, its always much appreciated. Con crit would be awesome if you feel the urge to do so. I'd really like to know what I can improve on.


	3. Chapter 3

I'd like to start off with a MASSIVE thank you, to everyone reading this! I haven't been this excited about writing anything in a very long time, and its because random strangers half way across the world are reading it-I think that is SO COOL! OMG! I just wanted to share that with everyone :)

This chapter was a lot longer than the other two as I decided to cover a few more characters and move the story along, and I'm hoping it didn't have a negative effect on the story. But please feel free to tell if it did.

Also I'll mention that the entirety of the story so far covers the same ten minutes or so of real time, and I'm hoping that the story still flows with how I've portrayed it. If it doesn't, please et me know.

Insert disclaimer here, no spoilers as far as I know, italics=previously spoken dialogue.

Please enjoy :)

...

**Chapter Three**

The hardness of the floor became painfully apparent as Kate sluggishly wandered back into consciousness. The fact that she was on the floor was a bit concerning, but the mother of all headaches hit her frontal lobe, and the memory of the SuperAbnormal's knee connecting with her skull came flooding back. Alongside with the realisation that she was still alive, she decided the floor didn't seem to be so bad a place at the moment.

_"Mom, you don't have to be afraid anymore."_

It was barely a whisper by the time it reached the aural components of Kate's barely functioning brain, and it wasn't a voice she recognised. But it was a voice none the less, and it jump-started her nerve receptors, forcing them to operate. Her body protested as she fought to sit up and open her eyes, but the scene they fell upon was not at all what she'd expected. Instead of Magnus having it out with the SuperAbnormal, there were two figures kneeling on the floor encased in each other's arms with two dead SuperAbnormals lying seeming forgotten a few feet away.

Kate attempted to process the scene playing out in front of her, with great difficulty. The blond SuperAbnormal she'd just let a rocket launcher on was; one, alive and two, hugging Magnus. The woman she'd just attempted to kill. Talk about jumping ship at the last moment.

The sound of sobbing finally registered with Kate, and then it hit her. The blond one must have been Magnus' daughter. 'Oh, what was her name? Ashley, that was it,' she smiled to herself as she realised she was snooping on a family reunion. Not wanting to interject into the moment happening on the floor, she attempting to sneak away quietly.

She realised she needn't have bothered attempting silence by the time she reached the exit of the main lab. Mother and Daughter were so wrapped up inside the cocoon of arms around one another that even a stampede of rabid Neanderthals wouldn't have disturbed them.

…

Will, Henry and the Big Guy scrambled towards the exit of the base level of the Sanctuary once the EM shield and outer defense systems were back online. "We need to find the other SuperAbnormals, and quick," Will was always one to state the obvious. "And we need to get to Magnus." The others agreed, already pelting towards the elevator, ducking and weaving the numerous obstacles that littered the basement.

The three stood in silence, panting heavily, taking a second to catch their breath as the elevator headed towards the main level before rushing to get out and practically falling over each other as the doors opened. Henry and Will raced ahead leaving Big to bring up the rear, only to narrowly miss smashing into Kate as they rounded a corner.

"Man, what are you doing here?" a bewildered Henry asked Kate, who hadn't quite managed to dodge them and was now on the floor, "We thought you'd be outta here a-sap."

"Figured I should stick around for the party and all, what with the pretty little family reunion they've got going on back there," grumbled Kate as Will offered her a hand up, jerking her head towards the entrance to the main lab.

"Yeah, sure. Wait, WHAT?" Will double took as the dots connected, only to find Henry had already taken off and disappeared from sight at a speed that left the others wondering if werewolves could teleport.

"Yeah, Blondie and the Boss were sharing a sweet little moment, so I left…Hey! Wait up," she yelled after Will and the Big Guy as they pelted after Henry.

….

The sight that met Henry's eyes as he reached the archway of the lab forced him to a dead stop, his brain attempting to process it all, 'Ashley, she's alive!' His mind rejoiced at the thought, his body barely able to contain his relief. There she was, kneeling on the floor in Magnus' arms. Blood soaked and tear stricken, but she was there, she was alive! The old Ashley was back, it had to be. Otherwise the Doc would have been torn to shreds. And he was pretty certain that the SuperAshley gang didn't tolerate crying.

"Ashley?" He crocked, voice wavering with emotions as he moved towards the two women. The two women pulled apart almost in shock and turned towards him, evidently having not heard his approach, or that of Will or the Big Guy who'd just caught up with Kate lagging behind. And once again the Sanctuary held its breath as the seconds dragged on. Henry and Ashley met eyes, the sickening shade of purple flicked through-out hers causing a knot in his intestines and his stomach to clench.

"Henry…"

The stillness was broken as Henry dived towards the blond, wrenching her off the floor, flipping in mid-air and landing on his back with her on top. A blur of moving limbs ended in a bone crunching hug that rivaled Magnus' in intensity, until Henry's hands found her face and pulled her into a kiss she returned with a degree of vigour that cause the witnesses to divert their gaze. Well, more so Will and Kate to look away awkwardly and shuffle their feet, Big Guy to look around knowingly with a hint of pride and Magnus to just look with her mouth agape.

'She came back. Ashley came back," was the only coherent thought passing though Henry's mind. Other than the feeling of his lips on her, his hands on her hips, hers in his hair and the rate his heart was beating. He was quite certain that if it increased he'd die of a heart attack right then and there, a thought mirrored by Ashley.

The pain and anguish the two friends had felt over the past weeks poured out in a whirlwind of relief as they deepened the kiss. Their tongues battled for supremacy, both relishing the warmth of the others mouth, their taste, their scent. Reveling in the presence of their bodies pressed together, lying on the floor and the fact that they were very much alive. Eventually they pulled away and locked eyes, slightly breathless but overjoyed, understanding absolutely everything inside their childhood friend's head.

Then they realised they weren't the only ones staring, the entire room was gawking at the two. Blushing profusely, Henry untangled himself from Ashley, helping her and Magnus to their feet and proceeded to stare at the floor as Ashley wiped away the dampness that remained on her cheeks and turned to smile at her friends and family.

Once again she was assaulted by those she loved. The Big Guy grabbed her, whirling her around like he did once upon a time in her childhood before placing her gently back down on the ground as Ashley giggled. With a gleam in his eyes, he grunted, "Good Girl," and ruffled her hair, the closest they got to the unofficial 'we're pals' slap over the head.

Will almost head-butted her as he ensnared Ashley in a comparably gentle hug, beginning to form a sentence before she cut him off, a smile still present in her eyes, "You know I don't do the whole talking thing, so don't bother offering," correctly guessing what Will had been about to offer. Some people were just wonderfully predictable.

Any doubt the Will had about whether or not it was all Ashley in there evaporated, regardless of the unnerving purple present in her eyes. A smile broke over his face as he tightened the hug briefly before releasing her, so happy to have his friend and college back.

Then Ashley notices the chick who hit her with the rocket launcher lurking on the outskirts of the group, nudging one of the SuperAbnormals curiously with her boot. 'I don't know if I should thank her or kick her arse for that,' she thought as she focused her attention on the stranger intending to get a name for the face.

"Looks like you guys missed each other a WHOLE lot," the female smirked, glancing at the still silent Henry, interrupting Ashley's assessment and causing Henry's blush to spread beyond his face to his entire body, if such a thing was possible.

'Kick her arse,' Ashley decided, 'but not right now, now is…a bad…time…' her train of thought trailing as her ears roared and the floor rushed to meet her face before there was just blackness.

...

So, what did you think? I feel like a broken record here, but feedback is always appreciated :)

And a huge thank you to those who have already shown your support with pretty review and words of encouragment, you're lovely :D

And I'd just like to share the fact that my breath was just viable, and my toes are purple even though I'm wearing socks. I'm sitting at my computer, inside my room. Thats how cold it is-INSIDE MY HOUSE. Do not appreciate :(


	4. Chapter 4

I'd like to thank the lovely Di-Bee for helping me kick my arse into gear to get this chapter written, not just planned. And everyone who send me reviews :D And indeed you, who is reading this story :) Hope you enjoy it.

Please, enjoy.

...

**Chapter Four**

Before her unconscious body had time to crumple into a neat little ball on the floor, it was caught by a petrified Henry, "Jesus, NO! Don't do this to me again!" He couldn't lose her again, he_ wouldn't_ lose her again! Not after knowing that she'd come back them, to _him_.

"Infirmary. Now!" Almost identical thoughts were running through Magnus' head as she swallowed her exhaustion and ignored her pain, physical and otherwise. The two turned on their heels and raced along the corridors of their home, fighting the thoughts of the worse possible scenarios that now occupied their minds.

"Doc…" conveying an entire legion of emotion with that one syllable, before choking on it.

"Henry, no. I won't hear it," Magnus refused to consider the possibility that Ashley would be anything but fine. "No. Just, no!" attempting to convincing herself as much as the man carrying her daughter. The overwhelming sense of doom left to two alone, save the company of their own pants, thuds and thoughts as they tore through the building.

After what seemed an eternity in the minds of the two fragile beings, they rounded the corner to the infirmary. Henry placed the still-limp body on the operating table and retreated away from the frenzied Magnus as she gloved up and scrambled to connect Ashley to every piece of machinery the Sanctuary had to offer. Converting to highly effective Doctor Magnus mode, Helen raced around the room, attempting to find out what was happening to her daughter.

Beep…

_Slow_.

Beep…

_Laboured._

Beep…

'_But most defiantly there,'_ a wave of relief rushing through Magnus as she glanced at the Electrocardiogram. "Pulse is steady but faint, breathing the same. There's no sign of physical injury, or internal bleeding. She's stable, but I don't know what's happening to her," relaying the information to Henry. "She's been unconsciousness for several minutes, there's something extremely wrong," her concern was reflected in his eyes.

'_I need to figure out what's going on!' _sheer desperation clinging to Helen's every thought, as she flew around the room, running tests and processing information.

"Hang in there Ashley, you're not allowed to go carking it on me," a shudder sweeping through his voice, salt stinging his eyes as he looked over the motionless form of his oldest friend. "Dying is for losers, and I'm the one who drives the van," his efforts to form a smile barely moved even the corners of his mouth. His coping mechanism only tightened the knots his innards had wound themselves into, until he felt the pressure of a particularly hairy hand on his shoulder, intending to reassure the almost defeated man.

…

Slightly slower on the uptake, the other members of the Sanctuary and their temporary guest attempted to follow after the injured woman, but failed miserably at keeping up with the breakneck speed of the frantic pair of figures that had disappeared from sight. Big Guy outflanked the two, hurrying down the corridor with a grunted. Will and Kate slowed to a fast walk, knowing there was little to nothing they could actually _do_, and also the addition of a pronounced limp on Kate's behalf. The shrink and the mercenary delved into a silence that could have burnt a hole in the walls as they made their way to far side of the building.

'_I can't lose another person I care about. Not now, not after Clara.' _ The morbid train of thought Will was following repeated itself over and over and again, until the elevator doors opened and, much to Will's surprise, revealing a blood-covered and ruffled Tesla.

"Well it seems the little rough and tumble is over," his cocky mannerisms horrendously out of place, a second slow on the uptake of the situation. His characteristic smirk was lost as he caught the look on Will's face. _'Gods no, she must have done it,' _and for a second Nikola's heart stopped at the thought of Helen's heartbreaking, as yet another person she loved left her alone.

"Where is she?" demand would have been to soft a word to describe the intensity of his voice, all traces of his natural mask lost inside his concern.

Will, still lost in his own woes, was so thoroughly shocked by this unseen side of Tesla that a vaguely coherent string of words and gestures towards the infirmary was all the communication he could manage. Fortunately, this was enough for Nikola's brain to hit over-drive. Turning hair on tail, the particularly spry, but _incredibly_ old man bolted towards the operating room. His heart settled again as he heard the frantic shouts of Helen echoing around the hall.

'I find anything useful, nothing makes sense!"

Reaching the archway of the wing, he was greeted by the sight of Tiny Tim and the Butler looking on over a panicked Magnus. _'Jesus what had happened?'_ noticing the gashes on her left arm, before recognising there was a figure on the table. '_Ashley?' _Questions passed through his mind, but the answers seemed inconsequential

"What's the briefing?"sauntering into the room as he undid his cuffs, rolling up his sleeves. He knew Helen treasured her daughter, and the damage the past month and a half had done to her. '_I'll do everything I can.' _His silent promise understood and implicitly accepted.

"Her vitals are present, faint but stable. No sign of anything that would indicate the cause of her current state of unconsciousness," presenting a rundown similar to one Henry received. "I don't know what's happening." The confusion of the present situation and the residing level of epinephrine that had fueled the last three days of her existence where having a severe impact on Helen's ability to emotional control. "I need to run more tests to determine the nature of her condition," her frustration and uncertainty evident in her voice.

"Well then, to work," glancing at the numerous life forms now gathered in a small huddle, having just been joined by a wordless Kate and Will. "And I think the whole family should join in,' his suggestion was met with surprised and bewildered expressions from all of the so called 'Children.'

"Yes, make it a _family_ affair," a sneering voice with impeccable pronunciation jabbed at the vampire, the Englishman having just located the inhabitances of the building, after a multitude of searching its extensive size.

"Gentlemen, please," she voice left no room for debate, well beyond exhaustion now, '_and probably suffering from severe blood lose,'_ she reminded herself grimly. The very last thing she needed right now was two bickering men within her proximity. "Focus, we need to know what's happening to…" the rest of her cut off as Ashley's formally still body started jerking and convulsing violently.

The three elders of the room flew into action; John pinning the young woman down, allowing Helen to inject a syringe of Diazepam while Tesla analysed her symptoms and current condition, all before the rest of the room even had time to think. The convulsions subsiding, John loosened his grip, turning to Helen. "Care to explain?" his tone as eloquent as ever, despite the circumstances. What may have been an answer was cut-off before she could utter a syllable.

"We need to know what the Cabal actually did to her physiology before any of these results will make any sense." Paying more attention to the task at hand than the people surrounding him, Tesla was lost inside a world of chemicals and biology. "With level of mutation unknown, anything we have to work from in decoding why she's non-functional would be obsolete," puling himself out of genius land, his eyes met John's, who was only a step behind him.

"I'll find them," barely leaving a micro-second for the others to protest, think or even breathe before he had sprinted from sight.

"Right, Druitt will be back soon. Until then, we have to keep Ashley under constant surveillance and monitor her for any signs of notable change," attempting to pretend as if he wasn't cowering under Helen's almost leathal stare. "And as for _you_, we need to tend to your wounds," Tesla gestured towards the gashes on her arm as he grabbed her hand and led her towards a set of medical utensils on the right of Ashley.

"WAIT! What just happened?" a confused Henry summed up everyone's thoughts in one.

"Well, it's very simple really," a condescending Nikola multitasked tending to Magnus' cuts and explain the previous event. Unfortunately, he was so lost in his own world that he didn't notice his tangent going over the heads of the rest of the room, save Helen. Realising this, she cut him off, and summarised for their benefit.

"Her test results indicate a state of flux at a cellular level, which means anything we _might _be able to do _could _end up killing her. I'm not prepared to take that risk, so it's best to keep her under sedation until John comes back with some information, or we've had more time to study the alternative we may have."

"We'll just have to keep her under sedation until Druitt get back?" Will interjected; finally processing some overload of information Tesla had tried to give them, thanks to Magnus' addition.

"Exactly," she replied, slipping off the bench she'd been placed on, and with that the room stared wordlessly at the comatose form lying on the bed, falling into silent pray.

...

What did you think? Reviews, con crit, even just smilie faces are more than appreciated.

Actually, I dare anyone who's gotten to this point of the story to send me a smile face. for no reasion what so ever. 'Cause it'd be funny, and you can. I'd also like to mention that it is now quarter to five in the morning as I upload this. *Insert tired face here* So I may be a tad crazy right abour now :D I apologise, please forgive me.


	5. Chapter 5

It might be moving a little slow, but I'm definatly getting there :)

I finally decided there will be eight chapter in all if anyone wants to know. Because I'm weird and have a number sequence of 3,5,8,13. And seeing as this is chapter five, logically there is going to be more. And 13 would just be excessive.

Please enjoy :)

**Chapter Five**

As the hours passed after john's departure, the tension of the situation ate away at the patience and sanity of the household.

Not wanting to get hauled into the family crisis, but still restricted by her injury, Kate scurried away into little hiding-hole. An extremely smart choice, which may have been influenced greatly by witnessing Magnus threaten Tesla regarding his behaviour towards Druitt. Threats which would have no doubt been followed through, had the genius not scampered from the room before she'd had a chance, followed by the mercenary. '_Best to avoid the crazy woman with a scalpel,' _as she waddled away.

As he headed towards his make-shift lab to start decoding the biogenetic anomaly he had been presented to solve. In an attempt to avoid the wrath of Helen, Nikola started analysing the probable causes of Ashley's condition. '_And the entirety of places one can insert scalpels into,' _he shuddered, not enjoying the majority of the list, and quickened his pace through maze of corridors.

The Big Guy and Will exited the room once they were sure Magnus had calmed down and wasn't going to run after Tesla and rip him limb from limb. The Big Guy went to organise communication with the safe houses that held the abnormals which normally resided in the house, while Will contacted the other heads of house to give them a rundown of what had gone on. He knew full well that Magnus would be in no fit state to do anything practical until she knew what was happening with her daughter, this would just be one extra thing she wouldn't need to think about. Task completed, he retreated to his room to stare at the ceiling and let the events of the past few days sink in.

Henry and Magnus sat in silence watching Ashley's comatose form until Henry was no longer able to sit still for more than a minute, and went in search ofsomething to _do_._ 'Anything but staring hopelessly,' _as he disappeared into his lab, assessing the damage the fight had done to the security measures. Occasionally relaying information between the parties that had separated themselves around the corners of the house, the grief stricken weapon-smith attempted to disappear inside a world of computer screens rather than human thinking.

Helen remained alone long after the room had been cleared, maintaining her constant vigil over the motionless form of her daughter. The minutes ticked by into hours, completely lost on the woman isolating herself from the world. _'Ashley, I'm so sorry,'_ tear fell from her eyes and her body jerked and shuddered as the guilt and self blame became too much. Her cries and sobs echoed around the enormous structure but where swallowed into the walls before they reached the ears of the others in the vicinity.

...

Eventually she calmed down; too exhausted to maintain that level of exertion any longer, and her cries dulled down to syncopated sniffles, and then nothing but the occasional hiccup. She relished the silence and the absence of distractions it presented, the only place she could just _be_. That was until Tesla came bristling into the room, interrupting her wallowing.

"It's the source blood, I'm certain of it," the conviction in his voice was held two-fold in his face. "It's the only thing that could be at fault for every one of her symptoms."

"Source blood, how?" pulling away from her well established train of thought and trying to come to grasps with his theory.

"Well, if you assume that her molecular structure is re-establishing itself after the Cabal's treatments, and that there was some sort of controlled mutation involved that is now being rejected, then she is simply adjusting to the source blood in her system."

"But she'd been under treatment for weeks?" there was far too many assumption in that assessment for Helen not to question. "Why would she still be undergoing mutation?"

"Well, I've been studying her genetic both make-up, both pre and post her transformation into a teleporting delivery girl, using the sample of blood you gave me, and the cells are still in a state of flux, indicating…" He paused, letting Helen fill in the blanks.

"That whatever the Cabal did to her hasn't finished. But then why did they use her on the Montana test subjects if that was the case?" cocking her head slightly to the side in thought.

"That's the tricky part. I'm certain that for what the Cabal wanted, she _was _finished. Her blood shows traces of more pharmaceuticals that one could poke a needle at, which I'd assume was to keep her level of mutation in check."

Helen's emotion soaked brain was taking all this _very _well, "In check, as in a _directed_ transformation? Not just awaking latent abilities already encoded in DNA?"

"Exactly," flashing a smile demonstrating how pleased he was with both himself and Helen. "I started wondering how _I _would go about the forced mutation of an individual; if one wasn't restricted to a vampiric mutation of course, and the only plausible way to go about it would be constant maintenance after the initial mutation was underway___,"_ he paused for a second to catch his breath and make sure Helen was keeping up. "One would have to impose a level of control over both the mutation _and_ the subject to ensure that only the selected powers were the result. Don't you think it's strange that none of the SuperAbnormals were able to shift light? I'm sure it would have been useful, but the Cabal would have had no way of tracking or monitoring their subjects had they instated that ability," answering his own question before Magnus cut in.

"They need muscle while minimizing brains," picking up Tesla's theory and running with it. "So they would have left out the intellect of James, and focused their attention on yours and John's abilities."

"Indeed, but those gifts aren't necessarily the one that were encoded into the original Ashley's DNA. It's my theory that she's simply undergoing the same transformation that the five of us went through back at Oxford, except her ride is going to be substantially more difficult due to whatever the Cabal used on her for control, as well as reversing the mutation that was already established. I'm predicting it will be more or less identical to mine while she reverses the Cabal's work. What will happen after that, and how long it will take, I have no idea. But she'll have to be monitored closely until then, and kept under sedation for safety."

"I'll stay," as the final words had barely left Tesla's mouth.

"No Helen, you need to sleep," dismissing her suggestion. "Do you remember how long have you been awake for? Three days, that's how long," he cut her off as she attempted to protest. "And you're injured," gesturing to her stitched arm. "I'll look after her until Druitt gets back, and I'll have one of the kiddies get you when he arrives. Please, just go and sleep?" he was practically begging her now.

She barely had enough energy to protest when Nikola's arm snaked around her waist and led her towards her bedroom. Instead, she slumped into his frame, using him as a walking aid as a wave of exhaustion hit her. They made it to her door on only two legs, Nikola having to cradle-carry her along the length of the last corridor, before helping her assert her footing at the door.

"Thank you," she whispered, only just managing to keep her eyes open and thoughts coherent before practically falling through the door and crashed onto her bed, asleep within seconds.

Looking at her exhausted form, he couldn't help but pity her and the concept of sleeping in shoes. Gritting his teeth for whatever reprimand he'd get when she woke up, he removed her shoes and pulled a stray blanket over the top of her. A small chuckle left the man as he glanced back at the sleeping woman, before gently shutting the door and walking away.

'_Now to Ashley,' _he thought grimly as he made his way back to the main lab to run more tests.

...

There is more coming, _very_ soon. Originally this chapter was going to include the introduction of a surprise character, but it got really long and I'm really tired, so I prefered to finish this chapter and spend a bit more time on the next than russing and compressing.

SO! What did you think? I highly encourage reviews and constructive criticisms, please let me know if I'm going a good job. Also, smile faces are a highly prized item within my life, as they mean Happy Times :D

Also, if anyone can guess who the character is, I'll give a bag of Jelly Babies to :P


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the delay, uni decided to kick my arse for funzies...Oo...But all better now.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think at the end :)

...

**Chapter Six**

Those tormenting hours came to a conclusion when John finally arrived at the front door of the Sanctuary. Apparently successful in his mission, he pulled an unwilling guest in tow.

Excepting to find the infirmary full as it was during his departure, he was surprised to find Tesla alone; save for Ashley when he walked through the archway. The shards of conceit from both men sparked off each other, the room filling with a power struggle decades long that had their new "guest" searching for things to duck behind for cover. _'Think how bad it must be when they're _not _cooperating?' _she mused to herself as she studied the situation in front of her.

She's always assumed that the Sanctuary was well equipped. '_They would have to have been, to keep up with us,' _but she's never expected it to _feel_ this prepared for anything, '_and, well…_alive!_'_ Even after the damage the previous battle had done, the cathedral sized room still ebbed with a presence that seemed almost human. _'And it's so _big,' thinking back to the walk through the front door to what she assumed to be the medical wing.

Looking around the room to get her bearing, she recognising her previous test subject hooked up to the multitude of machines that inhabited the room. She attempted to move towards the table, unwittingly drawing attention away from the power struggle. A few steps later, she felt a powerful grip on her shoulder. "I suggest you stay still and where I can see you," the Englishman could be _very _persuasive if he intended it so.

"Now who, pray tell, is this?" Tesla finally turned his attention to the "guest" Druitt had brought with him.

"Why, it's exactly what you asked for," with a flourish of his hands as he gestured to the old woman. "_This _is the scientist who oversaw the research and conducted the experiments the Cabal performed on Ashley. A Doctor York, I believe," the venom in the man's voice stopped the woman from uttering one syllable of whatever it was she wanted to say, and sent shivers down Tesla's spine. '_Poor woman, Druitt _and _Magnus. The rest of your probably short life will not be very pleasant I'm afraid.'_

"And I'm assuming Magnus would be _very _interested in meeting her," the vampire's tone indicating how interesting that meeting could actually be. "It's fortunate that she's not here at the moment."

"Where is she then?"

"I sent her to get some sleep, she was basically the walking dead," the concern evident in his voice, although he wasn't enjoying having his decision questioned, something John was very clearly doing with the expression of his face. "I told her I'd send someone to get her once you arrived, but I suggest we leave her for a few hours longer"

"I'm sure in your infinite wisdom you had a reason for that, care to share?"

"Well, you brought back the person who in essence has put her daughter through all this. I'd like her alive and able to talk for at least _some_ time before I set Helen on her. I don't think the results of their introduction will be a very nice experience, for this one anyway," gesturing towards the elderly redhead.

"Point taken," Druitt conceded, instead turning his attention to the plethora of test Tesla seemed to have been conducting. "What are you doing?"

"Well, when you were ever so graciously collecting this one for me, I've been attempting to figure out the effects the source blood will have on Ashley once she's reversed the work this one did to her."

"It seems I've missed some seemingly vital information, _reverse_ the effects of the source blood?"

Instead of re-explaining the same theory he'd already embellished several times in the past few hours, Nikola turned his attention to Doctor York. "Why don't _you_ explain what you've done to this girl?" malice gleaming in his eye.

A silent war raged between the vampire and the scientist. The building held its breath until the grip on the woman's shoulder tightened in a silent warning to co-operate. Breaking eye contact in defeat, she took a breath before launching into her explanations of Cabal experiments.

"We controlled the effects of the source blood on Ashley to ensure the powers that she developed were specifically what we needed. We had to maintain a level of antimicrobial and analgesic compounds in her blood stream to keep the mutation in check."

"She was your guinea-pig?" an outraged John had long since relinquished his grip of her shoulder and moved to the body of his daughter, now ripped around to face the scientist with murder in his eyes.

"The rewriting of her molecular structure was being controlled by that amount of drugs in her circulatory system and their specific quantities." She spat out, breathless with fear at the thought having her abdomen sliced open. "Now that the dosage has been discontinued, she's going through the "normal" transformation she would have endured had she been ejected with the source blood in the first place," hoping that her explanation would save her from an unpleasant encounter with the father of her test subject. "Ashley's body is destabilising as the mutation proceeds and her immune system attacks the residue toxins that once regulated and maintained that state of mutation. "

"So Ashley's genetic make-up has been altered beyond recognition, her current state is a result of the intense trauma of becoming a war machine, the chemicals she's had running through her body for weeks and she's unconscious as a survival mechanism," a voice full of hatred and contempt reverberating through the ward, gaining steel and malice as it echoed from the entrance of the room.

Both John and Nikola looked up and past Doctor York, who'd already whipped around at the intrusion; only to be greeted by a sight to be reckoned with. In this particular set of circumstances, the sight was more commonly known as Helen Magnus, an _extremely _angry Helen Magnus.

She entered the room like a woman possessed, and a thump of flesh on flesh and a sickening crack echoed through the wing as she punched the ironically younger woman in the face. Kicking the cane out of her hand, Helen shoved her to ground. Landing spread-eagled on the floor, hands raised in a feeble attempt to defend and surrender.

"HELEN, NO!" Nikola roared, finally getting over his shock at the violent outburst. "We need her alive!" as the frenzied woman bore down on the cripple, a lioness stalking her prey seconds before pouncing for the kill strike, before being crash tackled into the ground.

Thrashing against body that had knocked her to the ground, Helen kicked and screamed as John helplessly watched the tussle, still needing to keeping at least one eye on Doctor York. The two bodies rolled around until Nikola managed to pin her wrists to the the floor. "Calm down, damn it!" he bellowed, concern all over his face. She finally managed to reel in her outburst, panting with exertion under Nikola's weight.

"Promise to behave?" the usual cocky and flirtatious Tesla was back as he almost reluctantly loosened his grip on her wrist, obviously enjoying the intimacy that had come as a result of Helen's outburst. Asserting his footing and fixing his vest, he offering a hand to the woman on the floor in a wordless apology. Accepting both the hand and the apology, Helen pulled herself to her feet and resumed her position by Ashley's side.

"So, what do you suppose we do now?" sorrow and helplessness haunted her voice as she started that the motionless form of her daughter.

"Nothing," their heads snapped up at the scientist's interjection, "There is nothing you _can _do."

"Oh really," Helen spat, malice practically dripping from her voice. "Are you certain about that?"

"The mutation is merely running its course."

"Well then, if you can't do anything useful, I want you out of my sight. John, can you take out new _guest _to the shoe?" the gleam in the Englishman's eyes indicated that he would be more than happy to comply with Helen's request.

"Then I suppose we wait," a crestfallen Nikola murmured as he watched the other two leave the room, his gaze falling upon the comatose figure hooked up to every second medical machine ever invented. "And let the source blood finish what it started," both their thoughts entertaining memories of Oxford and the Five.

"Yes, we wait," as silence and fear gripped the two friends.

...

Two questions, 1) Do I owe anyone a bag of jelly babies for guessing the guest star? and 2) what are everyone's thoughts as to the abilities I should give Ashley? Cause I can give her _anything _I want. Come on, audience partipication :)

Much love and smilie faces to you for reading :D


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